School Chooser

St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy

Primary · ages 3-11MixedAcademyRoman Catholic90 pupilsNursery Free breakfast clubStockport
School Chooser Score
56
In line with
similar schools
Likely range 20 to 86, so it could be “above”
Out of 100. Better than 72% of the 50 schools most like it.
OfstedInadequateLast Ofsted inspection, January 2022
Reached the expected level at 1168%England 63%
Attendance94.6%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families73%Far more than most schools
Places74 spare90 pupils, 164 places
Pupils per teacher22.4School workforce census

St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy is a sponsored academy in Stockport for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 90 pupils and room for 164. About 73 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 56 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 72% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was inadequate, back in 2022.

Roman Road, Heaton Norris, St Mary's Rc Primary School, Stockport, SK4 1RF0161 480 5319Mrs Clare Baron headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 11 January 2022, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Inadequate overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Inadequate
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Inadequate
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Requires improvement
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Inadequate
Early years
Requires improvement
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

This inspection is more than 4 years old. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of one grade.

Ofsted has serious worries about this school. It is in special measures.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

19 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.

Reached the expected level at 1168%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level11%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score106.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score106.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 54%54%20172018: 55%55%20182019: 60%60%20192023: 58%58%20232024: 70%70%20242025: 68%68%2025
Since 2017: +14%
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure20252024†2023†2019†2018†2017†StockportEngland
Pupils tested192012152213
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths68%70%58%60%55%54%64%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths11%0%0%0%0%0%9%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score106.0106.0103.0102.0100.0103.0106.3105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score106.0107.0103.0100.0102.0104.0105.3104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score109.0106.0104.0103.0102.0106.0106.0105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard79%90%58%67%64%85%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard84%90%75%67%59%62%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)79%70%92%73%68%54%
Reading progressReading progress score-1.8+0.4-3.2-0.2
Maths progressMaths progress score-0.6-2.3-2.4+0.0
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged73%50%14%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged63%63%100%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

† These results are for St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School Stockport, the school this one replaced in January 2024. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 1 of the 3 gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
73%63%
Gap 10 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
75%64%
Gap 11 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%11%
Gap 11 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published. As a Roman Catholic school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.

Plenty of spare places88 pupils for 168 places, 2024/25
52% full

80 places were empty (48% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Stockport council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll90Census January 2026
Places16455% full
Pupils from low-income families72%73% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English41%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support23%21 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan9%8 pupils with a plan
Average class size23.03 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)72%£91,450 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls39 / 51
White British pupils50%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (12), language and communications needs (11), Autistic spectrum disorder (3), Moderate learning difficulty (2), Specific learning difficulty (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024
Pupils on roll90101115
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals72%70%74%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language41%40%31%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support25%24%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans5%2%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.6% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance94.6%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school16.1%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils2.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission2.0%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/23†2021/22†2020/21†2018/19†England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.4%8.0%8.1%9.1%5.3%5.7%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.5%5.1%6.0%7.8%4.1%4.4%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence2.0%2.9%2.1%1.4%1.2%1.3%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence16.1%33.7%26.3%41.9%16.4%17.9%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate2.00.9
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00

† These attendance figures are for St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School Stockport, the school this one replaced in January 2024. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers3.9full-time equivalent, 4 people
Pupils per teacher22.4Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants4.1full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£56,057
Teachers who left in the year43%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher0.22024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£10,388England £7,128. Total £1.0m
Income per pupil£11,235England £7,587. Total £1.1m
Spent on teachers per pupil£4,235England £3,405
Money in reserve2%Very little put by: £22k, £221 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£83kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£10,388spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m112 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate1 per 1,000 people99% lower than the England average
Typical house price£305,000Stockport
Nearest bus stop140 mLittle Egerton Street, 26 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyAcademy530 m101Report card 202621Compare
All Saints Church of England Primary School StockportChurch of England670 m174No overall grade 20246Compare
Vernon Park Primary SchoolCouncil990 m312No overall grade 20257Compare
Whitehill Primary SchoolCouncil0.7 miles196Good 202435Compare
St Matthew's Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy0.7 miles201Good 20236Compare
St Thomas' Church of England Primary School StockportChurch of England0.7 miles149Requires improvement 20233Compare
Our Lady's Catholic Primary SchoolRoman Catholic0.8 miles157Good 202377Compare
Norris Bank Primary SchoolAcademy0.9 miles403Good 2024Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy with the 50 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 50 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats72%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 56 is 33 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 1 · middle 24 · highest 99100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 50 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
St Augustine's CofE Primary SchoolChurch of England6.3 miles188Not inspected66Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 56 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 56% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 20 to 86. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%in line
-0.05
2025 results; 19 pupils
Ofsted inspection16% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)well below
-0.59
Ofsted grade, 4.7 years old
Progress pupils make20%well above
+0.51
Contextualised attainment (no DfE progress measure available); 19 pupils
Direction of travel over five years0%no data
Attendance and behaviour10%below
-0.06
2024/25; 81 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well above
+0.25
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 19 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy a good school?

It is about average. St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy scores 56 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 72% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 20 to 86, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy inadequate at its last full inspection on 11 January 2022. That was more than four years ago. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of a single grade.

How good are St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 68% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 11% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.

How many pupils does St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy have?

90 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 164 places, so it is 55% full.

Is St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy oversubscribed?

Probably not. 80 places were empty in 2024/25 (48% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy?

Pupils were in school 94.6% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 16% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy?

The average class had 23.0 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

Does St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy have a breakfast club?

Yes. It is on the government's free breakfast club programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Roman Road, Heaton Norris, St Mary's Rc Primary School, Stockport, SK4 1RF
Telephone
0161 480 5319
Headteacher
Mrs Clare Baron
Free breakfast club
Yes: on the government's programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school (listed since September 2026).
Type of school
Sponsored academy (Academy sponsor led, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic, Diocese of Salford
Multi-academy trust
Emmaus Catholic Academy Trust (38 schools)
Local authority
Stockport
Ward
Reddish South
Constituency
Stockport
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 January 2024
URN
150203 · LAESTAB 3562031 · UKPRN 10093466
Formerly
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School Stockport

Where these figures come from